


What We're Given

by waterbird13



Series: Tumblr Fics [84]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Body Horror, M/M, Pre-Slash, Prosthetics, Surgery, Trauma, amuptation, bad memories, commiserating over trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:05:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7643623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbird13/pseuds/waterbird13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony helps maintain Bucky's arm. Bucky finally works up the nerve to tell Tony that he hates it. Tony commiserates about having body modifications forced onto you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What We're Given

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is another piece from Tumblr.
> 
> Warnings: pre-slash, body horror, amputation, prosthetics, surgery, and trauma. Bucky and Tony are both messed up over what happened to them.

“You know, it’s easier to fix if you’d stop clenching it,” Tony says, gesturing to Bucky’s fist, clenched so tight Tony’s surprised the metal isn’t denting.

“Sorry,” Bucky mutters sheepishly, clearly doing his best to release his grip. “It’s just…I fuckin’ hate it. So much. Want to rip it out, sometimes,” he confesses. “If I thought I’d be any good if you ripped it off, I’d ask you to. In a second.”

Tony snorts. “Yeah, tell me about it,” he says, reaching for his tiniest pair of needle-nose pliers. “Just keep relaxed, okay? The goal is for this not to hurt.”

Bucky looks at him, eyes narrowed. “What do you know about it?” He asks.

Tony takes the arm that he was using to turn Bucky’s arm this way and that and taps his chest with his knuckles. “My sternum’s artificial,” he says, forcing lightness into his voice. “Most of my ribs have been shortened. My lung’s are still a little messed up. They had five years to develop growing out of place, I guess it’ll take five more to get’ em back, if I do at all. My heart’s…healing, nanites helped a bit, but it’s not the strongest.”

Bucky looks at him lost, confused, so Tony sighs and continues.

“I had my own shrapnel in my chest,” he says. “It was going to kill me. A…brilliant surgeon opened me up. Tore open my sternum, broke off my ribs, physically moved my internal organs. Put an electromagnet in there. Powered by a car battery. I improved it. Had an arc reactor in there. Might’ve heard of it, it’s the biggest name in clean energy, powers everything I own now. Kept my heart running for years. But I never wanted it in there.”

He fiddles with his screw driver. “At least Yinsin was saving my life. I was definitely going to die if he didn’t do what he did. Your captors used your arm to hurt you and others. But yeah. I didn’t ask for that, woke up hooked to a battery, and then I depended on a piece of metal in my chest for years.”

“I remember them cutting into me,” Bucky says, voice low and gravelly. “Most of my arm was still there. They left it, for ages, but it got bad, so they…they must’ve been working on the replacement. They strapped me down and cut me, and it got so bad I passed out eventually, and I woke up with this,” he finishes, leveling a disgusted look at the piece of metal.

“If it makes you feel like that, you have options,” Tony says. “Shit, if I’d known…I’ve been maintaining this thing because I thought you wanted that, but if you want something else, totally possible. I mean, it can be removed. We’ve definitely seen that. No more arm. Or we could replace it. I’m sure I could whip something up superior to what HYDRA did more than half a century ago.”

Bucky looks at him sharply. “I can’t afford…”

“Friends and family discount,” Tony says quickly. “My time instantly becomes more affordable.”

“How affordable?” Bucky asks.

Tony shrugs. “Spend some time down here? With me? I might zone out sometimes, projects kinda take me in, but sometimes I like to talk and it’d be nice to have a flesh and blood person to talk to, who’ll maybe consider talking back.”

Bucky smiles shyly. “I think I can do that,” he promises.

“We have a deal, then,” Tony says. “I can get started…as soon as I finish here.”

Bucky uses his flesh hand to gently grab Tony’s wrist, securing him in place. “We could talk some more. Maybe.”

Tony makes a face. “Same subject?”

“Maybe something lighter.”

Tony nods, then picks up the pliers once more, diving back into the arm. “So, tell me. What’s your opinion on the Yankees?”


End file.
